Seemona Sumasar was attacked, bound and raped by her former boyfriend Jerry Ramrattan. Ramrattan threatened her but when she refused to drop the charges, he created and executed an elaborate plan to fabricate a number of false clues that led to the arrest of Ms. Sumasar, who was held in jail without bond for seven months before prosecutors and police exposed the elaborate ruse and dropped the charges against her. During the time she was incarcerated, Sumasar was separated from her 12 year old daughter, the restaurant she owned went out of business, and her home went into foreclosure.
Jerry Ramrattan used his experience with police and knowledge of police practices in an attempt to send an innocent woman to prison for three robberies that never actually happened.
Ramrattan was a former police informant and avid fan of television police shows who liked to pose as a police officer. He often posed as a police detective or private investigator. He persuaded three people to provide false statements against Sumasar, promising them payment in return. He coached these false witnesses with pictures of Sumasar so they could identify her, showed them her vehicle so they could make statements about it, and told them how to make the false statements to police.
The false witnesses made fake allegations against Sumasar, giving descriptions of another of her ex boyfriend's car and full or partial license plates. They picker her out of a lineup and provided probable cause for arrest warrants to be issued. Sumasar was held on one million dollar bond for three robbery charges, where she faced up to 25 years in prison. Sumasar gave police information that showed she had an alibi, as phone calls from her cell phone showed she was in another state at the time of the robberies.
Shortly before her trial an informant told police about Ramrattan's actions and gave police a cell phone number used by Ramrattan to contact the three false witnesses. Police checked the phone records, interviewed the false witnesses further, and uncovered the truth that Ramrattan had offered payment to them in exchange for their false accusations. The false witnesses were charged with perjury, Sumasar's charges were dropped and she was released.
Sumasar's faith in the criminal justice system is shattered. She feels, rightfully so, that she was presumed guilty from the start, despite showing proof of an alibi and having no prior criminal record.
Ramrattan's trial for raping Sumasar is scheduled for October 2011. He has also been charged with perjury for his orchestration of the false allegations against Sumasar in what prosecutors now call "a brazen attempt to undermine the fair administration of justice."
The only way that this could have been prevented would have been for the police to undertake a more complete investigation. The problem is that police face resource limits just like everyone else, and they have to make judgment calls about whether they have enough information or not. Often if there is enough evidence to establish probably cause, then an arrest is made without examination and corroboration of possible defenses. This case shows the potential harm that can be done to a falsely accused citizen when police get it wrong, even when it isn't necessarily the fault of police. Not only was Ms. Sumasar's life severely impacted in a significantly negative manner, but the society's faith in police and the criminal justice system is shaken as well. Perhaps that faith needs to be shaken from time to time, but it should result in improved investigative practices and not have the lessons it provides simply forgotten.
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